Trump heads for border

To hold rally in Texas to drum up wall support

ALAN FRAM, DARLENE SUPERVILLE AND ANDREW TAYLOR The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi struck starkly different tones in their border security standoff Wednesday, as Trump planned a rally in a Texas border city he says exemplifies the need for a wall and Pelosi said she’d back any bipartisan deal congressional bargainers produce.

The contrasting pathways — with Trump set to appear before raucous supporters and Pelosi signalling compromise — came with just over a week until a Feb. 15 deadline for negotiators to reach agreement or potentially face a renewed partial government shutdown.

House-Senate bargainers say their talks have become increasingly substantive and some lawmakers — including Pelosi herself — expressed hopes that negotiators might produce an accord as soon as Friday.

“If they come up with a bipartisan agreement, I’m happy to support it,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters. She said she hoped Trump would take “the same hands off” approach.

Democrats have been in a position of strength in the talks, after Republicans lost House control in November’s elections, Trump forced a record 35-day federal shutdown and surrendered without getting $5.7 billion he’s demanded for a wall.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has also given bargainers a green light to seek a deal that he has said he hopes Trump would find “worth signing.”

If Pelosi and McConnell embrace a bipartisan agreement, it could isolate Trump and pressure him to accept it without re-escalating the fight.

Trump has threatened a new shutdown or a declaration of a national emergency to access other budget funds if he’s not satisfied with a deal — steps members of both parties oppose.